Frontages and setbacks: a comparison of English and North American suburban houses

This paper is interested in the physical form of frontage and in the elements of urban form that may influence it. Studying its morphology involves looking at all the scales to provide a comprehensive image of how it is taking shape. This work presents a survey of different type of suburban houses to show alternative models of frontage with a focus on North American models and their British counterparts. It then questions the meaning and value of transition space at the scale of a neighbourhood, highlighting the role of main thoroughfares and back alleys creating a hierarchy in the street frontages. It finally explores how the building and the plot respond to the street hierarchy by use of yards, room layout and architectural features.